I owned a 1600 GT and a 3000 Ghia, luved em really, I prefered my mrk 1 1600 GTXL to the later model,
A mate had a mrk 1 metallic Orchid 3000GT, boy did that shift :D
Read some of the comments that follow the article, 4aLarf.
www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/classiccars/8997118/The-last-ever-Ford-Capri.html
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I had a couple of 2.8i's, both 5 speeds. Never had a problem with wayward handling. The last one I had I took to Turbo Technics in northampton and had a turbo fitted. I think it put out out about 230hp at the wheels. What people forget, is that in those days there weren't many cheap cars that did 0-60 in 8 seconds and 130mph - that was the preserve of 'exotic' stuff.
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I had loads of them, Mk1's Mk2's various engine sizes all the way up to 3.1 litres. It was *the* ultimate pulling tool in the 70s.
All those who never had a problem with handling never drove the big engined Mk1's. It was an evil handling beast, determined to make you pay for your fun with your life if at all possible.
I loved them dearly, taught me everything I need to know about love and life.
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I used to tune a 2.8i in these colours www.performance-car-guide.co.uk/images/L-MK3-Ford-Capri.jpg for a photograther back in the 80's/90's, luved working on it, and driving it afterward, they still look 'the biz' today IMO.
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At least 4 colleagues had these in various guises, one had a 3000, then a 2.8, which he sold to a friend and then bought it back from his widow when he passed away young. Anther had a Laser - 2.8 looks, 1.6 engine.....
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Strange, isn't it, the cars we remember with affection?
In my experience the Capri was a Cortina in a frock that handled with the refinement of a horse and cart. My friend's 3000GT was certainly near-lethal - the only time I ever thought it was safe was when he left it parked in Cardiff one night and came back to find it resting on its hubs.
When he finally sold it he added the words 'frightens passengers' - it went within a couple of days.
I guess if you couldn't afford anything better, the Capri did look like a bit more than it was.
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>>My friend's 3000GT was certainly near-lethal<<
That is what made it exciting! and so carried an element of risk like parascending/scuba diving/
driving a Lancer Estate etc., etc..
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My sister had a MK1 2000GT which was blessed with the dreadful Ford V4. This engine was so out of balance & used to shake so much that the ancilleries would regularily work loose, the dynamo actually dropped off twice ! The fuel pump had an operating arm about a foot long which was necessary to reach the cam and over a period of time this arm would bend shortening the stroke of the pump until it was incapable of supplying enough fuel to the carb at idle. It used to break down weekly, somebody stole it once & the police found it about half a mile away from where it was taken, yes, it had clapped out again !
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"The recently-overhauled braking system requires anticipation and a strong right foot."
Translation: The brakes are rubbish / dangerous. :(
I was fortunate enough to have a quick go in an official Tickford Capri Turbo a few years ago, it was best described as a 200-horsepower car with 50-horsepower brakes. It also had more turbo lag than a Saab 99. Still, they looked nice.
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Dad had one of the first Mk1s, a 3.0GXL, and me and my 2 brothers were wedged in the back. He loved it but noted that the steering went light at speed as the nose lifted (I'm sure Fords aerodynamicists intended this to happen). He tweaked it with a Piper camshaft.
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We lived opposite a Ford Dealer in the late 70s and had first glimpses at such delights as the Mk 3 Ford Escorts and then the Capri II appeared one night - I so dragged my dad over with a view to part exing whatever grey porridge he owned at the time.....a beige one with a brown vinyl roof....and a 2 or 3 litre lump...happy days.
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>> >>My friend's 3000GT was certainly near-lethal<<
>>
>> That is what made it exciting! and so carried an element of risk like parascending/scuba
>> diving/
>> driving a Lancer Estate etc., etc..
Yep, like the early air-cooled Porsche 911's.
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= = = > a beige one with a brown vinyl roof < = = =
*%?#=!!!
>>like the early air-cooled Porsche 911's<<
Out of all the cars I tuned (and drove) in 14 years, that is one of the very few that made a lasting impression on me.
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*%?#=!!!
Just checking you were awake.....that was the colour of the car I remember with a turd brown interior, didn't matter in the 70s.
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Oh it did Rob, it did. I had a beige Mk1 Escort, to the interior of which I added some offcuts of purple swirly carpet. People did eventually have to say...
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Well, I had a cream Zephyr 4 with Leopard skin seat covers in the 70's, friends called it a Caribbean cruiser .
:D
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>> a cream Zephyr 4 with Leopard skin seat covers in the 70's, friends called it a Caribbean cruiser
Funnily enough, my dear old mum drove a B reg Zephyr 4 for years when I was a nipper - it was Windsor Grey with red vinyl interior though.
Here's a thing Dog, the only other Mk3 Zephyr I've ever seen was at a petrol station, being driven by a dreadlocked West Indian gentleman!
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>>the only other Mk3 Zephyr I've ever seen was at a petrol station, being driven by a dreadlocked West Indian gentleman!<<
Column change, bench seat - The gent had good taste then :)
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>> >>like the early air-cooled Porsche 911's<<
>>
>> Out of all the cars I tuned (and drove) in 14 years, that is one
>> of the very few that made a lasting impression on me.
And me. They looked (especially at the back), and sounded mean, with the deep burble from the exhausts and busyness of the engine. Someone gave me a ride in one in the nineties. Wow, the thrust from that engine even in a high gear, and limpet like roadholding did make me realise how easily everything could go pear shaped if overcooked. I saw one undertake a dawdler in the fast lane of the motorway before they even knew what had happened.
I regret not owning a Capri V6 - a 3.0 or 2.8, doesn't matter. Crude but a car that was more than the sum of it's parts. I remember seeing a black one blast past me on the M1 followed by the fuzz. Must have been doing well over a ton.
Good in the snow too :)
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>>Wow, the thrust from that engine even in a high gear, and limpet like roadholding did make me realise how easily everything could go pear shaped if overcooked<<
That's what sticks in my mind, I tuned it for a chap in Vauxhall, S. London, and took it out afterward for a 'spin',
It certainly put a smile on my face when I gave it the gas :)
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I can't believe anyone thought the Capri handled well or 'stuck like a limpet'. I had a couple of 2.8's. A peugeot 309 Gti of the same time was a far superior handler. But the Capri was a nicer thing to have. If you didn't find the Capri's rather easily breached limits you weren't going fast enough!!
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>> I can't believe anyone thought the Capri handled well or 'stuck like a limpet'. I
>> had a couple of 2.8's. A peugeot 309 Gti of the same time was a
>> far superior handler. But the Capri was a nicer thing to have. If you didn't
>> find the Capri's rather easily breached limits you weren't going fast enough!!
>>
That again opens up the FWD/RWD argument!
Back in the day, I had a 1.1 Mk1 Fiesta, and my brother had a 1.6 Capri.
The Fiesta would handle the bends a lot better, the Capri did like getting its backend out!
BUT the Capri was telling you where its limits were - The Fiesta would just let go once its limits were breached!
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I think that sums it up rather nicely.
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Except sometimes it would not give you a clue, or tell you, or enquire permission. It loved to just violently snap sideways ( It would nearly always stop exactly on 90 degrees ) and then say to you afterwards. "There what do you think of that then"
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>> Except sometimes it would not give you a clue, or tell you, or enquire permission.
>> It loved to just violently snap sideways ( It would nearly always stop exactly on
>> 90 degrees ) and then say to you afterwards. "There what do you think of
>> that then"
>>
In which case, one of 3 things applied.
1/ Road conditions were not good - raining/spilt diesel?
2/ Far too hard on the loud pedal.
3/ You hadn't bothered to explore the limits, by building up to them (also see 1 & 2 )
Whenever I drive a car / ride a bike for the 1st time, I spend a decent amount of time 'learning' the way it handles, adding a small amount of power and speed, until the vehicle gives me the feedback that its on its limit. (or I'm on mine!)
For an average driver to just jump in a car, and hammer it - IMHO is asking for trouble.
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Comes back to my universal solution to driving. Everyone should do twelve months on a low powered bike before progressing to a car. Teaches respect for the things you mention.
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I've mentioned this before, but my Dad bought himself a Capri in the late 90s as a retirement present to himself. It was a 1.6 Mk 3 in "as new" condition. I will never forget the first time I drove it - the brakes frightened the life out of me. This is just one area where modern cars are so much better.
It was also an understeery thing, but the slightest road irregularity would defeat the primeval suspension and knock the live rear axle off line. I remember wet roundabouts being fun as the rear end would slide without much provocation at speeds too low to be dangerous.
I always thought the description of the Capri as a "Cortina in drag" did Cortinas a disservice. From the Mk3 onwards, the Cortina had a properly located back axle with trailing arms and coil springs. The Capri made do with more or less the cartspring setup inherited from the Mk 2 Cortina for the whole of its life.
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In which case, one of 3 things applied.
1/ Road conditions were not good - raining/spilt diesel?
2/ Far too hard on the loud pedal.
3/ You hadn't bothered to explore the limits, by building up to them (also see 1 & 2 )
Nope, loads of things would make it snap, a pot hole, manhole cover, road camber,
Clearly you never drove a big engined capri hard.
>> For an average driver to just jump in a car, and hammer it - IMHO
>> is asking for trouble.
Did i say thats what I did? I did say I had load of them.
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>> I can't believe anyone thought the Capri handled well or 'stuck like a limpet'.
If you cast your sleepy eyes further up the thread, you'll realise I was talking about the early Porsche 911's, another car with snappy handling.
:)
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>> I had loads of them, Mk1's Mk2's various engine sizes all the way up to
>> 3.1 litres. It was *the* ultimate pulling tool in the 70s.
>>
I had one of the first released MKII Capri S for about 12mths - I worked for Ford and we used to get the cars quite cheap and then sell them after a reasonable period. The girl I was going out tith at the time hated it as everybody used to stare at the car. It seems ridiculous now, but you couldn't go anywhere without people asking about the car!
>> All those who never had a problem with handling never drove the big engined Mk1's.
>> It was an evil handling beast, determined to make you pay for your fun with
>> your life if at all possible.
>>
The problem I had with mine was terrible understeer in the wet, probably largely to do with the appalling Michelin tyres of the time - they were notorious at the time. The engine also used to cut out in heavy rain. Ah, they don't make 'em like they used to!
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The Capri was the car I wanted as a kid.
Interesting that the Brooklands model cost £12k. Averages wages at the time were £8k.
Today average wages are £24k. A VW Scirocco (210ps) costs £26k. On this basis alone, cars seem slightly better value now.
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Regrettably, I never owned a Capri but I did get to drive my boss's 3.0S fairly regularly. He used to send me on errands in it. I really didn't mind. I had a Mk1 Cavalier 1.6L at the time.
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The last ever Ford Capri - Dave
